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Friday, May 27, 2016

What, Exactly, Did Ike Say to Launch the Invasion?

We all know the result of Eisenhower’s order on that
fateful day. 150,000 men, 12,000 planes, and 7,000 sea-going vessels launched
the most intricately planned (and most risky) amphibious assault in history on
the beaches of Normandy. But what exactly did the Supreme Allied Commander say
to make that happen? The quick answer is: no one knows.

Captain J.M. Stagg

Eisenhower had already issued one monumental order on
June 4th: the invasion must be delayed. Although as he met with his
staff and meteorological experts that day, the weather was fine. Ike was
concerned with conditions a few hours in the future. His chief weather adviser,
Captain J.M. Stagg, reported that a storm front was moving into the Channel and
would make the landings virtually impossible if carried out as originally
scheduled on June 5. (Had the weather cooperated that day, our Arch would be
one inch shorter at 44 feet and 5 inches.)

Through June 5th, Eisenhower and his
meteorological team continued to monitor the forecast. Weather prediction on
this level was a new science, and it was fortuitous that the Allies excelled at
it compared to the Germans, who were blissfully unaware that an invasion could
take place in such conditions. Rommel famously decided he could take a day off
to visit his wife on her birthday because of the storm.

Ike’s team gathered again in Southwick House at 0330 on
June 5th, in miserable weather, to mull the latest reports and the
fate of the invasion party that was already at sea in the Channel. Stagg
predicted a break in the storm by dawn. The Supreme Allied Commander had a
decision of epic proportion to make: go or no go? Another delay could prove
disastrous. It would mean recalling the troops already at sea and risking an
intelligence leak that could reveal to the enemy the carefully guarded secret
of the invasion.

Ike asked opinions of his staff, paced around the room,
mulled his options, and then said…What?

The most frequently reported version of his order to
launch the invasion is along the lines of “OK, we’ll go”, which Eisenhower himself
used later in speaking of the meeting. The “official” tour script for
volunteers at the Memorial records the “three words that changed history” as
“Ok, let’s go”, which historian Stephen Ambrose preferred in several writings.

But there seems no end of other variations of The Order.
In reality, Eisenhower himself never seemed aware of what he said. In 1964,
then ex-President Eisenhower gave no less than five different versions for one
article in a French magazine commemorating the 20th Anniversary of
the Invasion. In his memoir Crusade in
Europe, he merely says he “announced the decision” and that no one present
disagreed.

A few of the various permutations that have been proposed
for The Order through the years include:

“OK, let ‘er rip.”: This was actually the earlies
version, reported in Reader’s Digest
in August 1944, and apparently approved by Eisenhower at the time

“Well, we’ll go.”

“OK, boys. We will go.”

“All right, we move.”

“OK, we’ll go ahead.”

“Yes, we will attack on the 6th.”

“Yes, gentlemen, we will attack on the 6th.”

“Gentlemen, we will attack tomorrow.”

“We will make the attack on June 6.”

“We will attack tomorrow.”

So, which one is accurate? Or do we have to reconcile
ourselves to the fact that one of the most important decisions ever made in
warfare has no definitive text to accompany it?

Southwick House

Only by putting yourself in the room at Southwick House
can you begin to see how such a monumental moment could escape so unremarked.
Picture a room full of officers on the verge of the most important operation
they will ever experience. There are no
recording devices; no one takes notes. All listen intently to the weather
reports and various opinions bandied about; all contemplate what happens next
once the decision to go (or to delay) is made. They watch Eisenhower intently,
but to a man all understandably have their minds more on their duty that on the
curiosity of future history buffs.

In short, no one was concerned about the wording of the
order. They only cared what the order was. Tellingly, Ike later recorded that
as soon as he said whatever it was he said, the room emptied in moments. Each
man there had a job to do and immediately got into gear to accomplish it.
Recalling who said what and in what words was not a priority.

Incidentally, there is also no definitive list of exactly
who was in the room that morning, and no agreement in the historical record of
exactly what time the decision was made. Such details were lost in the fervency
of the moment and fog of war.

The Supreme Allied Commander’s monumental decision raises
a couple of interesting points. First, note that his order was the ONLY one Ike
issued that day. His work was done in the months leading up to Operation
Overlord. On the actual day, he could only pace, smoke too much, and wait as agonizingly
slow and incomplete information arrived at Southwick.

Second, notice that he alone made the decision. He did
not consult, and was not expected to consult, General Marshall in the States or
the President himself. Such weighty responsibility entrusted entirely to a
single officer would never have happened in the totalitarian regimes of our
enemies, or even with our ally, the Soviet Union.

So Ike made the call. But, in the end, we can never know
exactly what he said to make it. We can only contemplate the results of his
order, and the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the men who carried it out.

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The National D-Day Memorialis run by a private, non-profit educational foundation in Bedford, Virginia that seeks to preserve the lessons and legacy of D-Day, June 6, 1944.

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I work as the Education Coordinator for the National D-Day Memorial planning a variety of family-friendly programs for students of all ages. It is my passion to present history in a way that is fun and engaging.